All programming with Dakota United SC requires a player be a minimum age of four years old by the registration deadline.
We understand as a parent you would like to get your kiddos active. We want them out playing soccer as well but after some years of having three year olds on the field and conducting some research we have learned a few things.
Research shows that at the age of three children do not have the basic motor skills or cognitive development needed for organized team sports. Asking them to share one ball between eight players in a team setting can be confusing and frustrating.
Our recreation league PreK age group did once accept three to five year olds in the past. However, when you look at the skill level of a child that just turned three, compared to that of a five year old not yet in Kindergarten (as per our program age breakdown) there is a large gap in ability. As a result, the youngest players or teams with a higher volume of young players often did not have a good experience.
Those two items combined have led to the decision to change the PreK age group to 4-5 year olds.